Illusions
by Silva Bramley
Summary: A whole lifetime had passed within minutes. She didn't understand how he could be gone for so long and still know how to manipulate her. It was like he could see to her quick and read the fears hidden there. Did he really know her that well? Oneshot.


**Illusion  
_il-lu-sion (ih-loo-zhuhn) noun  
_1. Something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality.  
2. The state or condition of being deceived._  
_**

_I like your starry eyes  
They yell surprise, surprise_**  
**_I'm in love...but not for long_**  
**

"I'm…dying."

Her sight was blurred. Everything was a smear of colors, making absolutely no sense. She couldn't tell where one ended and another began.

"I must be dying."

She heard something move near her ear and her whole body flinched. But she could not see. Nothing made sense except for the surreal notion that she was dying. There was no other explanation for it.

The pain was nearly unbearable.

"Ino?"

She turned her head to the voice, but she was unable to discern any shape from the colors. Unable to recognize who was speaking to her.

"Who…who are you?"

She flinched again as she felt a cool palm press against her cheek. Icy fingers ran through her bangs, traced across her forehead, trailed her jawbone.

"I can't see! I can't see you!"

Tears were streaming from her sightless eyes. Nothing made sense. Everything was a blur and the colors all faded together. Her hand latched onto the wintry wrist, and she clutched to it in desperation as another spasm of pain wracked her body.

She was terrified of sinking into nothingness. She didn't want to end here. She didn't want to stop existing, to fade away into the past. To become a name on some stupid rock. A distant memory.

Drops fell on her face and, from their salty taste, she knew that they were tears. They flowed and mingled with her own.

Gently, her fingers were peeled away and both hands were laid to rest on her stomach.

"Don't leave me! Who are you! Why won't you answer me!" She shrieked before another jolt of pain rendered her speechless. Her breath was ragged from pain and charka exhaustion.

"Hush."

Soothing hands smoothed her hair and ruffled clothes. She wondered how disheveled she looked and, ironically, was embarrassed because the voice that spoke to her was male.

"Nothing makes sense…nothing makes sense," She blubbered, soft sobs punctuating each word.

"I'm sorry," the voice said, still smoothing her hair. It was relaxing, and she could feel the tension ease away. Her eyes grew heavy and she had to struggle to keep consciousness.

"Sorry for what?"

He hesitated and didn't say anything for several long minutes. She was on the verge of blackness when he finally spoke.

"For ruining your life. I could have loved you...made you great...but I chose to ruin you forever."

"Why?"

The darkness was heavy and demanding. She feared she would pass and never hear the reason.

"For punishment. You've been lying. To me. To yourself. To everyone."

The colors all swirled and spun and mixed until they were a dull, uniform brown. The brown darkened and darkened until it became a black, and then she was gone.

_She'd rather see me dead than face me._

"She lost her sight. She won't ever see again."

Slowly she regained her senses, first moving her fingers and wiggling her toes to ensure that she could still move.

"She won't be able to continue her life as a shinobi. She'll have to integrate into the civilian life."

She shifted her body, attempting to move into a more comfortable position, when a sharp pain in her torso paralyzed her limbs momentarily.

"She's waking."

"Ino. Ino, are you alright?"

"Why's it so dark in here?" She asked, ignoring the painful throbbing and pushing herself up in the bed.

There was a noise that resembled the shifting of fabric, indicating that someone was moving.

"Ino-dear," she recognized her Dad's voice. "It's not dark in here. The lights are all on."

"Dad, this isn't funny. It's pitch black in here. I can't see you at all."

"I'm not joking," her Dad said, his voice wavering as if under great distress.

"Just turn the light on, Dad," she said, her voice picking up in pitch and breaking at the end. She desperately hoped that he would turn the light on and then laugh, and she would scold him for taking a joke too far.

But no light turned on.

_You'd better listen to your doctor, doctor_

She sat on a bench, running her fingers across a scroll that she could feel, smell, hear, taste…everything but read, which made it useless to her. The parchment felt cool against her fingers, and she pushed on the wrinkles that were a result of water damage.

The bench was located in the park, and she could tell from the smells which flowers were blooming nearby. There were several interlacing smells, but the strongest was the forget-me-not. She could still remember the way it looked, and visualized it in her mind, with it's deep blue flowers. So beautiful.

"Who was it?" She asked aloud. It was something that she asked herself a lot. Something her mind dwelt on almost continually.

"Who was what?" Shikamaru asked. She'd been blind for four months now, and recognizing people by their voices was easier for her now.

"Who blinded me?"

Two arms wrapped around her and pulled her close.

"I don't know. But they will die."

She buried her face into his chounin vest and cried.

_For you I'd count the salt under the sea._

"Oh, it's beautiful," Shikamaru said, his voice full of unrepressed awe. Her curiosity and jealousy piqued at his tone.

"Describe it to me," She demanded and he relented, diving into a beautiful and detailed depiction of the sunset over the waterfall in the midst of summer.

When he finished and fell silent, she leaned against him and snuggled her head into the crook of his neck. His arm wrapped around her and pulled her closer to him. He was always pulling her closer.

"Why do you bother with me?" She asked, suddenly. "I'm not a shinobi anymore. I'm not anything useful. I'm nothing more than a burden."

A firm hand took her chin and pulled her face upwards, but the effect was lost in the fact that she couldn't see his face or his expression. Shikamaru was well aware of this, and it was evident in the way his voice held his purpose.

"You are not a burden. I bother with you because you matter to me."

She opened her mouth, but had no idea what to say. The tears glistened in her useless eyes and she was ashamed at how emotional she was being. But, Shikamaru wouldn't allow her to apologize and pulled her close to him again.

"I love you, Ino," He whispered in her ear, stroking her hair.

"I love you, too."_  
_

_I don't think you'll ever want to love me._

The familiar sound of kunai whistling through the air filled her ears. Someone, Shikamaru maybe, pushed her down to the ground and she couldn't shake the illusion of being a worthless sack of potatoes: burdening and unhelpful.

The fight was utter confusion for her, she couldn't see what was going on, but could only hear the impact of blows, the grunts of pain, and the metallic clinking of kunai.

Someone tripped over her and she heard Shikamaru hiss in pain. She reached out a shaky hand, and felt warm blood and spiky hair and a hair tie. His body was loosing heat fast.

Shikamaru was dead.

"You're lying."

Shikamaru was dead...and she was next.

_Can't count on anything.  
_

The genjutsu was released, and only stubbornness and sheer will kept her standing as she glared at Sasuke's face. The dancing flecks and the red faded away, like the illusion, and his eyes reverted to calculating pure black.

"Bastard!" She yelled as she slapped him across the face. Sasuke was the one tied into a chair, bound by more than one thing to ensure that he stayed there, and was under heavy guard. But, she wasn't sure who was in control of the situation anymore. Her breath was shaky and her knees weak.

A whole lifetime had passed within minutes. She didn't understand how he could be gone for so long and still know how to manipulate her. It was like he could see to her quick and read the fears hidden there. Did he really know her that well?

"Bastard," she repeated weakly.

"Yamanaka, leave!" Morino-shisho ordered, pointing at the door of the interrogation room. She, with one last glance over her shoulder at the captive, obeyed.

_If your delicate eyes don't blink someday  
They might as well be gone_

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**Note: Fanfiction removed my line breaks, so I've gone back and used lyrics (from Currents Convulsive by Pierce the** **Veil) to replace them.****This story is a bit tricky, so if you were confused, read closley. Particularly the last line. That's all the hint I will give you.  
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**~ (Sort of) Inception'd, boii. ~**

_(Okay, I lied. I gave you another bit of a hint just now)  
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